The Curse of Puff Puff
by tilinelson2
Summary: A dreamy girl hears about the secret technique of Puff Puffs, and hopes it will help her conquer the love of the man she secretly loves, but soon what would bea miraculous solution becomes a curse.
1. A Miraculous Solution

The red-haired Lesser Fellpool felt something rubbing against her chest and turned her head to look what it was.

"...?"

Surprised, she realized it was a delicate feminine hand touching her right breast softly, and stared at the owner of the hand with a mix of confusion and defiance in her face. No words were spoken, but the message was clear. _What do you think you are doing?_

"Uh... sorry..." The owner of the hand, a pink-haired Fellpool, blushed until her cheeks became as red as her eyes. "Oh, Pericci…?" She was staring intently at the Lesser Fellpool.

"Is there something with my face?" The Feline girl asked, startled.

"No, it is not that, Pericci. It is just..." The pink-haired Fellpool stared at her companion's chest "It is just that they are so large..." With her voice shaking, she added. "May I... touch them?"

"Huh?" The last request only added to Pericci's confusion. Then, she felt a hand lightly pressing her left breast, and exclaimed startled. "Wha…?"

"It feels so good." The other girl lightly squeezed it with her delicate hands.

The Lesser Fellpool became used to the touch and shrugged. She was curious about the reason why the shy girl was so interested in touching her breasts, but she had no qualms about the act, for she considered herself irresistible to everyone, even women, so she let it be.

"How... how can they be... so large...?" There was both amazement and sadness in the Fellpool's voice, as she immediately turned introspective. "Mine are so small... and he surely doesn't like them..."

"Huh?" The Lesser Fellpool, annoyed, took the hands of her companion out of her chest, and answered nonchalantly. "They are what they are. Why do you care?"

The Fellpool looked down, sad. "I wish mine were large like yours, Pericci. I've heard them saying how much they appreciate your curves..." She sighed. "But looks like I'm helpless..."

As the Fellpool silenced, Pericci spent some seconds thinking, and suddenly came up with an idea of how she could help Millie. Then she loudly broke out the news, cheerfully. "Hah! You don't need to worry, Millie. You just have to do lots of puff-puff, and they will grow large as mine."

"What?" Millie looked confused. She had never heard about puff-puffs.

"Yes, Millie," Pericci added, so excited that she started shaking her companion. "Every gal should know that. Puff-puffs make them grow as large as you want them to be." Then, she paused a bit to reflect about what she had just said and then added, not sure that the thing she had just realized was really true. "I think…"

"Really?" The shy Fellpool was amazed. If that was true, it would solve her problem. She would be able to become attractive and finally get the attention of the man she loved. She was inclined take extreme measures for him, for his love meant everything for her. Somehow, she had convinced herself that the main reason for him not feeling attracted to her romantically was her lack of attractive curves, which made her sweetheart still see her as a girl, and not as the woman she turned to be. The magic formula Pericci had hinted at was all that she wanted. "What is a puff-puff, Pericci?"

"Puff puff is just like that." Pericci juggled her breasts with her hands. "If you do that a lot, eventually they will grow big." The Lesser Fellpool couldn't hide a small grin in the corner of her mouth at Millie's expression, but her companion was mesmerized. She was so amazed with the prospects of becoming as attractive as Pericci that she forgot that her friend was very naïve and playful, so her remarks could never be taken for granted.

"Like that?" The pink-haired Fellpool tried to imitate her counterpart's movements clumsily. "Puff Puff"

"Puff Puff" Pericci repeated the movements.

"Puff Puff… puff puff…" Amazed, Millie just repeated the movements mechanically.

"Yes, but you have to work hard. It took me a long time to come up with this pair." Pericci grinned again. "It is not easy being sexy."

After a few moments repeating the movements, Millie suddenly came out of the trance and enlaced Pericci's neck. "Oh, thanks, thanks, thanks!" Millie hugged and excitedly kissed the cheeks of her companion, causing her some discomfort. For a moment, the Lesser Fellpool thought that the red-haired Fellpool had fallen in love with her. She remembered Millie's unnatural excitation when talking about Mavelle, so it was not the first time that the pink-haired Fellpool looked too excited about another woman. However, in a few seconds, her fears were dissipated, as Millie released her and left the room jumping and screaming. "He will finally fall for me! He will love me..."


	2. The First Delusion

For some days, the pink-haired Fellpool tried to avoid thinking too much about the puff-puff issue, for she had a much more important task up ahead: to save the universe from an impending war. Millie didn't have the time to think about her selfish goal, so she didn't follow Pericci's advice promptly. When it came down to fighting for what was right, she was able to forget that the man who was always present in her dreams was so close to her and focus completely on the battle, protecting her allies and fighting her foes. And Millie played a very important role in the last battle against Jie Revorse, being arguably her best performance in the battlefield ever. She contributed extensively to the overall success of their quest with her crucial healing and resurrecting spells, plus some aggressive incantations that hurt and distracted the devilish foe, barring him from mauling one of her companions to death. When the battle was over, the enemy had been completely vanquished and no one was seriously hurt, making their quest a complete success.

After the end of the quest, it took some days for the things to settle, but finally all the excitation dwindled down, and the once heroes returned to their peaceful lives. Shortly after saying the long farewells and goodbyes to her brothers in arms for a last time, it looked like all the adventures had been nothing more than a pleasant dream. After a few weeks of having returned to Kratus, and with nothing better to do, Millie returned to her former occupations, which included trying to win the heart of her longtime friend and companion, Roddick. Her hopes that, during their mission together, he would learn her feelings and reciprocate were frustrated as she not only saw that situation unchanged, but also saw her beloved to develop a certain kind of relationship with other women, prettier, more intelligent, and more experienced than her. Although Ilia was not a direct contender anymore, the Fellpool had been certainly shunned by the presence of the smart and courageous blonde fighter with a PhD, or whatever it meant as the concept was not very clear for Millie. Mavelle was a beauty queen and had a perfect personality. Even the silly Lesser Fellpool girl, with her well-proportioned body and her weird antics seemed to be more attractive to Roddick than she was. Millie was in a worse position than when their journey started. Besides, the mere thought that, no matter what she did or said, Roddick still saw her as a mere childhood friend hurt her a lot. She had to do something about that, for she was sure Roddick had both Pericci, Mavelle and Ilia on his mind as a love interest, but not her. And Ilia's last words for Roddick, about how the things could have been different if they were from the same world, still hurt her deeply

One calm and pleasant night, locked inside her room after having dinner with her father, Millie remembered Pericci's advice on how to enhance her curves. She opened her dress buttons and started clumsily touching her body over her bra. She was not sure whether she should take them off, but modesty prevented her from doing that; she felt dirty touching herself in that manner with that purpose in mind. After some minutes playing aimlessly, the pink-haired Fellpool realized that what she was doing was shameful and ridiculous, for it caused nothing but discomfort, so she stopped and went to sleep, angry with herself, on the verge of tears. _If that damned girl was right about the puff-puffs, she didn't tell me everything! It will never work out! Damn! Damn! Damn! _Millie punched her pillow madly, and then hugged it, weeping silently._ I wonder if Ilia and Mavelle have done that too… and all the pretty girls around… looks like I'm the only fool that has a flat chest and is unattractive to him…_

The following day worked like a reassurance of Millie's impression, although it came most from her biased perception. As soon as she left home, she went immediately to meet Roddick, with her usual upbeat mood and cheerfulness, but, much to her awe, he reacted in an unusual cold manner to her cheerful greeting as soon as they met in Kratus' Defense Forces HQ, where they all took supervising positions after their return. They were now in charge not only of the city's security, but of the nearby villages as well.

"Heeellloooo, Roddick!" She noisily greeted the blue-haired Fellpool.

"Uh... Millie?" Roddick was busy reading some papers and barely lifted his eyes to look at his incoming companion.

"Good morning, Roddick." Millie crossed her arms and answered angrily, showing her dissatisfaction with his lack of interest on her.

"Good morning." He answered as if he was answering the greeting of an unknown person, just out of education. That infuriated Millie, who stormed out of the room fuming in rage. When she was crossing the doorstop, she met her blond friend Dorne. Ironically, she greeted him coldly.

"Hi, Dorne."

"Hi, Millie." He answered cheerfully, but somewhat frustrated that her greeting was devoid of excitation he would like to hear.

"What's up with Roddick?"

Millie's irritation was flagrant, and her excessive interest on Roddick bothered him. _Roddick! Always Roddick! Won't she ever open her eyes? _Dorne tried to answer in a way that the pink-haired Fellpool would not notice his irritation. "He is busy, overseeing some serious business."

Millie was startled, and her ditzy nature made her change her mood instantly, from angry to worry. "Serious business?"

"Looks like the patrols on Haute failed to track down the bandits that have been pillaging that village." Dorne rubbed the back of his head in anxiety. "To make matters worse, they robbed the inn again, under our forces' noses."

The information sparked that dutiful and responsible side of the pink-haired Fellpool girl, so that she completely forgot her infantile romantic issue. "Wow! That is really a big problem. This is the third time the inn was robbed in less than two months! We must do something about that."

"You can say that again! If we thought we would have peace after you defeated that evil entity..." Dorne added after picking up a sword from the armory and examining its blade.

"Well…" Millie shrugged. "We defeated one evil entity, not all the evil beings in the universe. There will always be people doing something evil. And there will always be people like us, enforcing the evil ones will take what they deserve."

"Yeah, maybe we should go ourselves and kick their butts, like in the old times." The blond Fellpool winked, teasing her companion.

"Like in the old times…" Millie became introspective suddenly, and became silent. She was thinking about the times were it was almost only Dorne, Roddick and she staying together. They have certainly matured during their journey to save their people, but Millie longed for the innocence of the days of the old. Especially because she was the one who had matured less after all they had been through. If, in the past, she used to think Roddick ignored her hints because he was still too young, and he, sooner or later, would fatally be driven to her; now she had seen with her own eyes that Roddick was interested in other women, but that he could only see Millie as his childhood friend.

That was enough to set Millie on a grumpy mood for the rest of the day. She was not sure whether she was angry because of Roddick's behavior at her or her own behavior. She was not a girl anymore, a silly teenager whose only pursuits in life were to have fun and to find a suitable boyfriend. Her longtime crush for her childhood friend was just a source of shame, something unsuitable for the woman she wanted to be. Besides, it was another reason for Roddick to look down on her. She still had the face of a young girl, the body of a young girl and the behavior of a young girl.

Inventing an excuse to go home earlier than it was expected, Millie had a plan on her mind. She would do everything to change her image of a young girl. It included trying to apply the puff-puff technique, because she stubbornly put inside her mind that having a flat chest was one of the main reasons why Roddick did not care about her. She spent hours trying to figure out the right way of doing puff-puffs, hoping she would notice some change when she got it right, but nothing noticeable happened. The Fellpool only ended the whole session with her arms and chest hurt. Apparently, they looked a bit larger, but Millie was did not celebrate because it was too painful. _Is this sacrifice worthy? Will he love me after that?Or will he always see me as a silly girl, no matter how pretty, attractive, good-hearted, loving and caring I am? If only he could look what's within my heart…_


	3. An Unexpected Visitor

The sun rose in Roak's sky and Millie was feeling worse than when she went to sleep, with her breasts hurting so much that she had to make a strong effort to get up. She regretted doing that foolish action the night before, especially because, apparently, they have not grown much larger. In order to be able to resist the pain, the Fellpool had to wear a light dress and no bra, something she had never considered doing before because she was too prudish. Gathering her strength, she decided to pay a visit to the HQ, hoping nothing had happened and her presence was not needed, so she could take the day off to recover the pains caused by her imprudent act.

However, it was not meant to be like that. After leaving her house, Millie started walking slowly across the Kratus' unpaved roads, enjoying the light breeze in the hot summer day. It gave her a feeling of peace, and helped her to forget her pains for a moment. However, before arriving the Kratus' Defense Force headquarters, the pink-haired girl noticed something was wrong. Patrolling guards were coming and going, running around aimlessly, like ants at the sight of something dangerous. Millie could see clearly confusion and despair in their faces. It meant something very serious had happened, otherwise there wouldn't be so many guards gathered together. Despite the pain, she ran towards the HQ, but, on her way, she hit one teenager patrolling guard and fell on the floor. The boy excused himself and helped her up, but the damage had already been done, as her chest pain only grew worse. The Fellpool girl tried to lure the thoughts of returning home out of her mind and resumed walking slowly towards the headquarters. _Damn! When they need me, I have just put myself out of combat with that selfish, stupid, and disgraceful act! _

Arriving at the door, there were so many people inside the wooden house that Millie had a hard time making her way to the private meeting rooms. All she wanted was to meet Roddick and Dorne in order to understand what was happening there. She was frightened, believing that the casual joke with her blond friend the day before may have become a reality and that the situation was so bad that they needed to leave their hometown on another dangerous quest. Making her way among the crowd, the Fellpool girl finally reached the counter, where the official promptly let her inside. Arriving inside the main meeting room, she found her companions discussing, with worried countenances.

"What is happening here?" Millie asked, worried.

"Oh, Millie!" Roddick seemed relieved to see his friend. "Finally you came."

"The situation is pretty bad." Dorne added.

"What happened? What happened?" The pink-haired Fellpool was jumpy. By that time, she had even forgotten her pains.

"Remember that group that was raiding Haute?" Roddick answered and immediately continued after his rhetorical pause, "They screwed it pretty bad this time."

"Those rascals blew a hole in mount Metorx to serve them as a refuge." Dorne hit the wooden desk with his fist.

"And?" Millie was at loss.

"Don't you remember what was inside the mountain when we explored it during our time-travel, Millie?" Roddick asked dryly.

"What?" The way her friend has answered her not only hurt her feelings, but also added to her confusion. She might be silly sometimes, but the way he asked her made her feel like a complete idiot.

"You don't have to talk to her like that." Dorne scolded his friend.

"Oh, sorry, Millie." Roddick tried to fix his mistake. "It is… it is just that I'm too worried…"

"Nevermind." Millie interrupted Roddick and dismissed the subject as irrelevant. Then, she turned to Dorne, hoping that he would not act so harshly towards her. "So?"

"Roddick told me that you have found dangerous Bloodworms inside an abandoned mine in mount Metorx back then. Looks like the bandits managed to release them out of the mountain."

"Now they are on the verge of overrunning Haute, Millie!" The blue-haired Fellpool could not control his anxiety and interrupted his friend.

"Oh, no! That is really bad!" The news made her more anxious than before. "I thought they were all dead by now."

Dorne swallowed hard. "It is a very serious situation, Millie. The patrolling guards who tried to fight them were seriously injured…"

"Yes. Luckily no one died yet. Remember how strong they were, Millie?" Roddick added.

The girl recalled her memories. "Yes… if I remember well, they were really strong. The first time we tried to explore it, we were almost killed." Millie didn't have fond memories of the abandoned mine.

"And these guards are too weak to face this new menace…"

"That means…" Millie interrupted Roddick, but hesitated. She knew what would come next. The three friends had to step up and fight the new threat to Haute's safety. The notion of taking up arms again annoyed the pink-haired Fellpool. She believed she would be able to settle down after the crazy adventures she had had in company of Roddick, but the tranquility didn't last more than a few weeks. However, she was no coward and she knew that there was no one better than Roddick and her to deal with that dangerous threat. They were not only strong and experienced combatants, but also knew well how to deal with those dangerous bloodworms. So, the answer was more than expected.

"That means we will have to take care of this threat."

"You are right, Roddick." Millie sighed, resigned to the idea.

"So we must hurry! Let's go!" Dorne picked up his sword and opened the door of the meeting room.

Roddick and Millie followed him. While Roddick was breaking the news to the patrol guards gathered inside the HQ, news that were received with applause and cheers, Millie was very introspective, and didn't even hear what was being said inside the room. She had many things, many contradictory thoughts in her mind. As much as she liked the idea of being close to the man she was deeply attracted to, especially in a critical situation where hidden feelings are more prone to flourish, she was also afraid that her life has become an unending cycle of the same things going over and over again. More than that, that her relationship with Roddick has become a spiraling cycle where she would never be able to get to the edge and would turn around and around until she was crushed under the weight of her passion, in its center, destined to the eternal loneliness and oblivion.

The fighter trio then left the Kratus village and, as they set foot on the road that linked their hometown to the village of Haute, Millie was relieved that the group of patrolling guards finally left them alone. She walked at a small distance behind her two companions, instinctively adopting the formation the group used in the battlefield. The pink-haired girl was not very proficient in combat, but her symbology skills were indispensable to ensure her companions safety. Besides that, she felt a bit disconnected from her friends, opting to abandon herself to the inner machinations of her own mind. Probably the boys were talking about boyish subjects and she was unwillingly to disturb them, for one of the resolutions she had taken the day before was to leave Roddick and Dorne talk about whatever they wanted, without showing any hints of her girlish curiosity, in a way to look older and more mature to them.

What she didn't know was that, among whispers, she was the subject of the boys' talk.

"Roddick, did you pay attention to Millie today?"

The blue-haired Fellpool was caught off-guard. He was not sure about what to answer to his friend and decided to go with a non-committal answer. "Yes…"

"Man, you can almost see it all!" Dorne was so excited that he almost raised his voice enough for the girl he was talking about to hear him.

"Really?" Roddick was startled and turned his face to look at Millie, for he didn't notice anything strange before. The girl, who was following them in silence, smiled at him. He forced a smile, but he had already had his attention fixed on his friend's chest. After a few seconds, embarrassed, he turned back to his friend.

"Wow! That is really strange! I've never seen her like that." He was a bit shocked to see his longtime friend wearing clothes that made it possible to catch a glimpse of her breasts under her dress. She always wore modest clothes before.

"Do you like them?" The blond Fellpool took his companion out of his dazed state by elbowing his ribs lightly.

"Wha… what?" Roddick was very embarrassed with the situation and tried to avoid the subject. "Her clothes?"

"Clothes?" Dorne stopped and raised his tone. "Come on, Roddick, you know what I'm talking about. The pretty things under her dress."

"Shhh!" Roddick halted. He was desperate because he didn't want the girl who was following them to overhear the conversation, so scolded his friend for talking out loud things that, in his mind, should always remain secret. However, his friend didn't seem inclined to comply with his request.

"Give me a break, Rod! Do you want me to believe you have never looked at her… ouch!" The blond Fellpool was interrupted by the contact of Roddick's boot to his shin. Before he could protest, he noticed Roddick was not looking at him anymore.

"Huh?" Millie, who had approached the two boys slowly, stopped walking, with puzzlement in her face. She was very curious to know why the boys were arguing. It should be something interesting, for they had even stopped walking, but she fought back her urge of asking them because she didn't want to look like the pathetic hot-headed girl she though Roddick considered her to be.

"Oh, Millie?" Roddick failed miserably in his intention of looking natural to the subject of the conversation that caused the small squabble between him and Dorne, but the girl seemed to have bought his fake expression, at least partially.

"Is everything ok?"

"Yes, it is." Dorne promptly answered.

"Alright." The girl smiled, trying to reassure them she was not dying to know what they were talking about. "It is just that you suddenly stopped…"

"Oh, it is nothing." Roddick tried to dismiss the matter quickly. "Dorne and I were just arguing."

"Anything serious?" Her tone of voice was calculated to make it look like she expected a negative answer.

"No, just some silly boys' thing." Dorne promptly answered, knowing that confessing the real subject of their conversation was the worst option.

"Girls, heh?" Millie answered playfully, grinning at her friends.

"No, no, of course not!" Roddick was so troubled that Millie was started by his behavior, and she knew his next sentence would be a lie. She didn't know, though, the reason why he was so annoyed. "We were talking about…"

Millie interrupted calmly. "No need of being squeamish about it, Roddick. There is nothing wrong in two young men talking about women."

"Yeah?"

"Yes." Millie smiled sweetly at her friend.

"Yeah, Roddick, let's resume our conversation peacefully…" Dorne addressed Roddick and was turning his back on Millie, but then realized it would be indelicate, so he sought her permission. "Shall we?"

As the girl nodded, they resumed walking. Not wanting to be a nuisance, Millie gave them the same lead they had before the silly dispute. She knew she wouldn't conquer Roddick's affections by forbidding him to talk about other women, although she couldn't deny she felt jealous and even a bit envious of the women Roddick considered worthy talking about. The thing that she didn't know was that that time she was the girl worthy of his consideration.

After walking for a while in silence, when he felt safe enough to not be overheard by his female companion, Roddick scolded his friend. "You almost screwed it, Dorne."

"It was you that almost screwed it, Roddick. Do you want me to believe that you never looked at Millie as a woman?"

Roddick disturbance caused him to use all his forces to refrain from punching his friend, but the sense of justice prevailed. It would be a barefaced lie if he answered affirmatively. Being always his only close female friend, she had always been the only attainable girl of his teenage dreams. It was very common for him to resort to her image to fulfill his romantic and lustful dreams. She was not the prettiest or the most interesting girl in the world, but she looked good and, most important, she was there, representing the only real expectation of fulfilling his dreams. He had many reasons not to pursue the fulfillment of his dreams with his friend, as her friendship was something too valuable to lose. But it didn't prevent him of thinking about her.

Calming down, Roddick answered, "You know, Dorne, we have talked a lot about it. We even quarreled about her."

Grinning, the blond Fellpool asked again his opinion. "So, what do you think?"

"Well…" Roddick bit his lower lip. "I can't deny she looks pretty, and that is such a rare view. However, it is so un-Millie to dress up like that. I wonder what she had in mind this morning to dress up like that."

"I hope she was thinking about me." Dorne chuckled.

"About you?" The blue-haired Fellpool answered harshly. "Don't make me laugh."

The two boys quarreled a bit before changing the subject. Behind, Millie was unnaturally upset. Instead of her usual upbeat and confident mood, there was something inside her saying that something bad was about to happen. Her physical condition, though somewhat better, was not helping her to concentrate on the impending battle. Everything because of a desperate, unintelligent, and selfish move by her part. She hoped she could concentrate in protecting her friends during the battle, but she could not get rid of the gloom she felt.

After some time walking, they finally saw Haute at the distance. But the gravity of the situation was so clear that they didn't even enter the city. Visible groups of bloodworms were surrounding the city's western and northern walls, trying to break into the small town. As soon as they caught a glimpse of the gigantic green enemies, Roddick and Dorne charged towards them, but Millie shouted some sense into their heads and urged them to approach carefully, in order to not be surrounded by the monsters. The two boys slowed the pace and the pink-haired girl approached them.

"Hang in there everyone. I don't want to see anybody trying to play the hero. The most important thing is to come back alive."

"Alright, Millie, we will take care." Roddick answered promptly, understanding the dangers of the situation.

"Especially you, Dorne." Millie turned to the other boy. "As much as you try to be a good fighter, Roddick is much more skilled and experienced than you. I trust his skills, and together we have defeated much stronger enemies. As for you, I don't know if you are up to the task ahead, so don't take unnecessary risks."

The stern way she said that made him become nervous and irritated. _Damn! It is always about him! I`ll never stand a chance with her!_

He was ready to answer, but the girl added in a pledging manner. "I don't want to lose you."

It was enough to disarm his spirit. _Could it be true that she has a genuine feeling for me? Oh, Millie, please…If I was courageous enough to ask her out and open my heart…_

But none of the friends had time to think about anything else than the bloodworms. They were running towards the group, and, despite their slow speed, their massive size, and their large numbers were enough to make the Fellpools to proceed with the utmost caution. In a few seconds, there were screams, clash of swords in hardened shells and the battle was set up. While the boys swung their swords over the large worms, Millie stayed behind using protective and healing spells whenever one of the boys were wounded enough to demand her services.

Roddick was doing a brilliant job, having finished eight bloodworms already. Dorne, proceeding with more caution, had managed to dispatch two of the big monsters. There were more or less ten worms still alive surrounding them. Suddenly, two worms broke out of the group and started charging towards Millie, who tried to run away from them and keep a safe distance that enabled her to concentrate in casting her spells.

However, bad luck was on her side. A group of three large bloodworms suddenly came from the other side of the city walls, cutting off her escape route. Then, Millie was surrounded by five dangerous bloodworms and the high village's western walls. She screamed for help, but the boys couldn't break free from the worms that were surrounding them in order to help her.

As the circle closed, the bloodworms started mauling the defenseless Fellpool girl. Her screams of pain and agony filled Dorne`s and Roddick`s ears, but they were unable to do anything, except to pray for a miracle. The situation was so desperate that both the boys lost their concentration and were injured by the bloodworms they were fighting. Feeling weaker and weaker, Millie let out a loud yell "I don't want to die!" that paralyzed her companions. After a few seconds of constant mauling, the healer, unable to concentrate to cast spells while being massacred, started losing her senses. _Is this the end? I'm dying… Help me… please… _Moaning in pain, the pink-haired girl let out her last words. "I can't stand anymore…"

Roddick, perceiving the magnitude of Millie's tragedy, screamed his lungs out, "Millie!" and tried to bravely come to her aid, but the bloodworms surrounding him attacked back, forcing him to assume a defensive position. Dorne lost the coolness and started weeping, for he was sure the noises he was hearing were Millie's bones being crushed by the worms. _Is it worthy to remain alive when Millie is dead? _He was almost surrendering and accepting his own death, but a strange voice filled the air, with a debauchery tone.

"Who's that?"

Roddick was shocked to listen to the familiar voice of a person that should not be there, but as it was followed by the words "Healing Dance", and Millie's voice mumbling something he could not understand, he felt like crying of joy, for it meant she was still alive and, with the help of the newcomer, she stood a chance against the bloodworms.

"Pericci?" Millie was not sure if she was hallucinating, dead, or if the Lesser Fellpool in fact showed up to help her. The only problem was that, as far as she knew, the Lesser Fellpool had stayed three hundred years back on time, so it was not logical that she had shown-up suddenly. Considering the time-traveling paradox, Pericci had to be dead by that time, so it was more believable that Millie was dead too.

"Roundhouse!" The Lesser Fellpool started attacking the bloodworms. She seemed to have picked up the fighting rhythm very quickly, and it was not a big surprise, for she had faced the same enemies in the past. Millie, with her mind still fuzzy, remembered that Pericci was an active party member during their mount Metorx abandoned mine quest. "Multiple punch!" Soon, the wails of a dying bloodworm filled Millie's ears. It was the time to come back to the fight, and she knew the boys were having a hard time.

It didn't take long for Millie to hear the cries of pain and anger coming from Dorne and Roddick. They were barely able to keep fighting. Not only they were tired and wounded, but Millie's almost death event made them lose their concentration, so they were fighting poorly. Millie was very upset because she knew she was the cause of their setback. Pericci, despite of her good start, was facing difficulties, as she attracted the attention of the worms which had surrounded Millie. The pink-haired Fellpool felt she had to do something urgently.

"Tractor Beam! Tractor Beam! Tractor Beam!" Millie started casting offensive spells madly. "Gahhh! Die! Die! Die!" She entered into a kill frenzy, exhausting herself quickly. She collapsed to the ground and almost lost her senses, but her desperate effort was rewarded, for it was enough to finish all the remaining bloodworms, which were already weakened by her companions. Feeling an enormous pain, the pink-haired Fellpool closed her eyes an tried to catch up her breath.

"Millie!" Pericci ran towards her and took the wounded girl into her arms. "Millie! I'm so happy to see you! Did you miss me?"

"Yea... Yeah..." The Fellpool girl was so weak that she could not even articulate a proper answer. She wanted to ask Pericci how she managed to appear there to help them, but her mind was not steady enough to allow her to ask the questions she had in mind.

The Lesser Fellpoll laid Millie's head on her lap and asked. "Is everything okay?"

"I think... I'll... survive..." The answer came through a lot of pain.

"Great! I missed you so much! Don't you think I'm sexier now?" Pericci asked Millie while leaning over the wounded girl, almost touching her chest on the poor Fellpool's face.

"Certainly..." Millie was almost passing out, and although Pericci's question seemed completely out of place, she excused her companion, for she knew the Lesser Fellpool was genuinely worried about her. It was just that her antics were very weird. The sight of Pericci's wonderful rack so close to her eyes made she remember about the puff-puff deal, and she became so upset that she eventually passed out.


	4. The Blessing Becomes a Curse

Roddick had not digested the news yet; the shock of watching his best friend dying was enormous, and her miraculous rescue, although relieving, was nothing less shocking. _What is Pericci doing here? How is it even possible?_

"Roddick! Roddick!" Pericci left Millie resting and ran towards the blue-haired Fellpool, with eyes sparkling in joy. "Roddick!"

"Pericci?" It was still hard to believe that the Lesser Fellpool of the past was back again among them.

"Oh, Roddick, I missed you so much! I love you!" The girl clung to Roddick's neck and showered his face with kisses..

Dorne, who was just observing the scene, was shocked by the behavior of the strange girl wearing just a sensual bikini towards his friend. "What does that mean, Roddick? Who is this girl?"

"Well... this is Pericci..." His cheeks were pink.

"And?" The blond Fellpool wasn't satisfied with Roddick's laconic answer.

"She is someone... we have met... while fighting Asmodeus..., in order to save you..., Dorne." The blue-haired Fellpool was struggling with the girl's embrace, therefore he couldn't barely speak properly.

"Mmmm, really?" Dorne examined the girl. "Looks like you have had lots of fun during your journey..." Then, talking to himself with a voice low enough not to be heard. "And Millie still only thinks about you..."

"What do you mean, Dorne?" The blue-haired Fellpool's inquire was a mix of confusion and bafflement.

"No, nothing..." The blond Fellpool turned his attention to Millie and left to help her.

"Pericci..." Roddick tried to disengage from the girl's embrace with a light push, but he was unable to do so. "Pericci!"

"Huh?" As he harshly disengaged from the embrace, the Lesser Fellpool was somewhat hurt, and it almost brought tears to her eyes. "Don't you love me, Roddick?"

Roddick was fast in answering. "It is not that, Pericci. It is just that we must get going, I'm deadly tired." Then, slowly walking towards Millie and Dorne, he asked, "How did you manage to come here to help us?"

Pericci answered with a grin. "Heh, being a cat has its advantages."

"How so?"

"I was feeling so lonely without you and or Millie, without any of my friends. So I sneaked into a time gate, and then into Ronyx's spaceship. I'm just too smart, ain't I?" She seemed very proud of her actions.

"And why didn't you show up earlier? It has been months since we came back." The blue-haired Fellpool asked without turning to his companion.

"Because I was dumped with the spaceship's trash while they were leaving. Then, you know, those stupid dogs were attracted by the trash and I spent all this time running away from them."

"Were you hiding in the trash compartment?" Roddick was startled and stopped to face Pericci.

"Where else? That was the only place where I could go unnoticed." The girl shrugged.

The group picked up Millie, who had just woken up and helped her to Haute, where she got proper treatment for her wounds. She had to stay out of action for some days, but after the bloodworm attack, the things settled down a bit and her presence was not demanded at the HQ. Meanwhile, Pericci, who had nowhere to go, stayed at her house, nursing the wounded Fellpool. Although it didn't seem an appropriate subject, it didn't take long for Millie to go back to the subject that couldn't get out of her mind: the puff-puffs.

"Pericci…" The girl immediately blushed. "I have a question for you."

"Yes?"

"Do you think…?" Millie hesitated, sighed, and then asked her friend "Do you think my breasts… are larger?"

The Lesser Fellpool stayed in silence for some seconds, as if examining her friend's body, and then shrugged, with a smirk. "I can't tell. I thought it was just me who was worried with being sexier."

"Oh, Pericci, it is very important for me. I've been doing puff-puffs." Millie added, worried.

"Well, I've been doing puff-puffs since I've got my breasts, many years ago. I don't think it is something that works so fast." Pericci answered in a nonchalantly manner.

"But it is so painful…" The pink-haired Fellpool was subdued by the information. She hoped it would be a fast process, but her busty companion had just told her otherwise. It meant that the painful process would take weeks, months, or even years. But it was her biggest hope. During the days she was convalescent, Roddick and Dorne occasionally came to visit her, and more than once she noticed that the boys' subject of conversation was Pericci. So it proved her theory that a beautiful rack would be enough to attract her loved one's attentions.

After Millie got better, Pericci was given a room in Kratus Defense Force HQ, where she would be able to have more privacy. Then, being alone again, the foolish Fellpool started a puff-puff working out plan. Every night, she would practice the technique she had learned from her well-endowed friend for about one hour. Although it was still uncomfortable at first, Millie got used to that and she felt encouraged seeking her obsession.

Every puff-puff session ended in pain, but as her chest was swollen, it looked to the silly girl that the process was working out slowly. After a couple of weeks, Millie decided it was the right time to start showing off the results of her hard work. She went to the clothes shop and bought a lace bra and a dress with a low neckline. Then, in the following day, she went to work using her new outfit. The low neckline provided a good view of her cleavage and the lace bra being visible only made her look sexier. Or so she thought, because her meeting with the boy she longed so much to seduce proved otherwise.

"Hello, Roddick!" Millie introduced herself with a provocative voice.

"Huh? Millie?"

Roddick was shocked to see Millie on those clothes, but the girl mistook his reaction as surprise, so she pushed on, embracing him tightly. "The day is so beautiful today…"

The boy, feeling confused, stared at his friend with the same confused look. He answered mechanically to her question. "Yes, it is…"

Millie noticed that her love interest was staring at her, so her spirits became higher immediately, and she asked with a provocative pose and tone "What are you looking at, dear?"

"No… nothing…" The blue-haired Fellpool's cheeks became red.

"Come on, you were staring at me."

"I wasn't…" After the blatant lie, Roddick decided to shut up his mouth.

Millie pretended to be angry, but in a playful manner. "You are lying to me, Roddick. Is it about my new dress? Did you like it?" Although Millie tried to pretend she was in control of the situation, her anxiety was obvious in her shining eyes.

"In fact I preferred the old Millie…" The blue-haired Fellpool turned his back on his friend and left to attend some private business.

Millie's frustration was so obvious with the answer that she left the HQ crying, and she didn't show up for the next three days. She had not heard the last word of Roddick's sentence, but, after all she had done, all the pain she had endured, all the special care she had chosen her new clothes just to please him, and it was all useless, as he said he preferred her old outfit. She almost tore her dress in rage. It could only mean that he didn't pay attention to her body or that he didn't like her body, which was worse. Any of the alternatives were terrible for the girl who had become obsessed in winning the heart of her longtime friend, and she didn't even notice that she had opened the doors for depression slowly install itself on her mind.

After that day, Millie became gradually more reclusive and her behavior became erratic. She wanted to prove to herself that she could become attractive enough to stop being ignored by her sweetheart. She practically abandoned all her occupations in order to dedicate to the puff-puff thing, until her breasts became so large that no man would ignore her presence. Not even Roddick. _If he babbles at Pericci's cleavage, he will pass out when he sees mine. _

The silly girl wasted most of her time worried with her curves, and soon her strange behavior was duly noted by her own father and her friends. However, every time anyone tried to probe into her problems, her reaction was violent. She almost never went to the Defense Force HQ, and on the rare occasions she did show up, she would not talk with Roddick or participate actively in the discussions pertaining her job. However, he also noticed that, while she was there, she was staring at him all the time. Roddick was very worried about her erratic behavior, but every time he tried to probe on her motives to act that way, Millie would answer him harshly or shy away. He was losing his best friend, but there was nothing he could do, other than recommend her to seek professional help, and that angered the tsundere girl even further. The traces of the joyful Millie were rapidly deteriorating under her strong depression.

And, if everybody was worried, the one that suffered more was Dorne, for he couldn't stay impassive to the sight of his sweetheart. She had grown thinner and thinner, because she didn't care anymore about eating, her skin had grown pale, and she had the appearance of someone sick. Many times he tried to cheer up her spirits or probe into her woes, though he already suspected which was her biggest concern, but nothing of good surfaced from it. Although Millie was cordial to him, she had her eyes and ears closed to suggestions, advice or help. She didn't know that she had developed limerence, and that her infatuation for Roddick had become pathologic. And Dorne was inclined to do the utmost sacrifices in order to see the girl he loved laughing again. However, as strong as he could be, he was powerless to help her, because depressed people can't be helped unless they decide to help themselves, and every time he tried to convince her that she needed to change, she became angry. Although he tried to not show his worries, Dorne was losing his sleep over Millie, because he feared that one day he would wake up and receive the news that Millie was dead.

Another person that was affected by Millie's erratic behavior was Pericci. Millie partly blamed the Lesser Fellpool for her woes, for she believed that the Lesser Fellpool had not taught her the exact way of handling her breasts to make them grow larger. In fact, after a brief period when Millie believed the puff-puff technique to be working, because her breasts were swollen, she noticed that, gradually, they were growing smaller. Many times, Millie tried to address the subject with Pericci, but the Lesser Fellpool was hardly interested in it. The, when confronted with Millie's angry stares, the gorgeous cat-girl started avoid her friend, the same way Roddick was doing, for it was no secret that the pink-haired Fellpool had gone too far with her obsession with Roddick and her own body.

As the time passed, Millie was looking worse and worse, skipping days of work because of her precarious health state. She was relieved from her job, eventually, for she had no physical or psychological conditions to perform any kind of job. Besides, her constant stare on Roddick was making him lose his concentration as well. Then, the once cheerful and lively Fellpool girl became a depressed and reclusive woman, who spent most of her days locked in her room, crying, trying to do puff-puffs and then crying even more from pain and frustration that it didn't work. Occasionally, her father would force her to run some errands to buy food or help him in her job, but he was also very worried with his daughter's state. However, she would not disclose the real reasons of her suffering for anyone, because, in the depths of her mind, she still believed that, sooner or later, Roddick would realize that he loved her, and everything would be happy again.


	5. The End

One day, Millie was walking to the food shop. It was the first time in days that she had left her home. Her appearance was terrible. She wore a thick dress to hide her ribs and bones, which were visible under her skin. Her once beautiful hair was messed up and the threads broken. Her red eyes had lost all their vivacity and they were barely visible over the dark circles under them. Her weakness was apparent in her limping. She was not only completely battered, but also she had the appearance of a mad woman.

While walking down the streets that took her to the food shop, she caught the glimpse of a blue-haired young man. Not sure whether it was the blue-haired man she had in mind or if it was just her mind making her see things that were not there, the sick Fellpool girl hesitated. It has been weeks since the last time she had seen him and she believed he was avoiding her on purpose. However, she was like that because of him, and her delusional mind still hoped that she would conquer his love, so she screamed his name. "Roddick!"

The young Fellpool cringed at the sound of his name being shouted by such a broken voice. He turned his head to look at the person who had shouted and he was not surprised to discover it was his pink-haired childhood friend. Although his first reaction was to ignore her, he eventually conceded and went to meet the distraught girl.

"Roddick!" Millie tried to shout again, but her voice failed inside her throat.

"Oh, Millie…" The young Fellpool avoided eye contact with his friend. "What happened to you?"

"Why? Am I looking better?" The pink-haired girl was so delusional that she hoped that finally the boy she was in love with had started feeling attracted to her.

Roddick could not hold back the truth anymore. She looked like someone who had had her soul sucked out by a demon, and then given her the kiss of death. It would be no surprise if, in a few days, all that was left from the once cheerful and upbeat, pretty and full of life, silly and dreamy girl was just an inanimate pile of bones and rotten flesh. As much as it was something terrible to think, it was impossible to help someone who didn't want to be helped. If the plain truth didn't work this time, at least he would be able to sleep at night if something happened to his once dearest friend. "No, Millie, you look terrible! Can't you see it? You are destroying yourself!"

"But… but…" tears started falling from Millie's eyes. " I was just trying to be a better woman…"

"But you aren't. You are sick, ugly, devastated. Besides, I can't stand your mood changes, your awkwardness anymore. Sometimes I prefer to stay away from you." It hurt Roddick to have to say that for such a decrepit person, virtually defenseless. Especially because she was his best friend, and he would do everything at his hands to see her happy. However, it was worse to see her self-destructing behavior and pretending everything was normal.

"But I've done… everything… for you…" The words came between sobs and the last two words died inside her throat. She was not brave enough to freely admit her love for him, for she feared he would ridicule her feelings.

Roddick stared at her eyes, only to look down again, saddened, but decided to put on words what he really thought about her. "Look, Millie, I wish you were still that old Millie we all loved; that Millie who was kind, upbeat, cheerful, sometimes silly, and sometimes hot-headed. That Millie who was my best friend." He sighed. It was painful to say that straight to her. "But you are destroying yourself. As much as it hurts me to see you like that, I know I can't help." Then he turned his back on her, to avoid seeing her reaction. "And I just want to be dragged down with you. Farewell, Millie."

"No! No! No!" Millie cried desperately and collapsed. To hear his best friend agony was a gut-wrenching experience, but he had decided to resist Millie's appeals and leave her for the moment, hoping that, alone, she could eventually bounce back from her madness. The pink-haired girl was so deeply affected by her beloved reaction that she lost all the will to carry on. She stayed lying on the sidewalk, crying. _I did it all for you. For you Roddick! _"For you, Roddick!" Her voice was so weak that no one but herself could hear. "If you just said you love me, you would save my life!" _My life… What should I do with my life if I'll never have him?I wish I had a heart attack and died here, now…_

Someone knelt beside the agonizing Fellpool and started caressing her head. "What happened? Don't cry."

Millie was startled, but it served the purpose to take her out of her destructive introspective moment. "What?"

"Don't cry."

Millie recognized the person "You?"

"Yessssssss." Pericci answered with a grin.

Millie became angry. "It all happened because of you!"

"Me? What have I done?" The Lesser Fellpool was feeling confused.

"You…" Millie took a deep breath and then spilled out word by word, in anger. "You told me about that puff-puff thing, and it didn't work, and only ruined my life."

Pericci was somewhat scared because she had not done anything with the intention of harming Millie. It was exactly the opposite; Millie was a very dear friend of hers. "But…"

"Come on, admit it! You knew I would become a living corpse! You did it just to be with him!"

The Lesser Fellpool girl stood up, somewhat offended. "No way! I don't know what you are talking about."

"You…" Millie hesitated. Her voice was becoming faint again. "You lied to me… about the puff-puff thing…"

"Huh?" Pericci never imagined that Millie would take her playful comment so seriously. "My breasts have always been large."

"And you… and you…" The sick girl was so angry that she didn't even manage to articulate the avalanche of thoughts that came down from his mind.

"It was a joke, Millie! You are so naïve…" Then, thinking better, she completed her explanation because she didn't want to look as if she had tricked the girl on purpose. "I do puff-puffs because it feels good, but I'm not sure if they really enlarged my rack."

The girl didn't listen to her companion, for the pains and the sadness had already overcome her reasoning faculty. "I'll never have him…"

Suddenly Pericci understood Millie's purpose in exhausting herself with the puff-puffs. "Hey! What did you have in mind when you wanted to have breasts like mine? To seduce someone?"

"Yeah… yes…" Millie hated to admit the truth because it made her look more stupid than she already looked.

Pericci knelt beside the crying girl again. "You will not seduce them with just an awesome rack." She silenced for a while, as if she was thinking, "However…"

"However what? However what?" Millie sat up and stopped crying. She was anxious and had the countenance of someone overcome by insanity. "Tell me!"

"There is a good way of making a man fall in love with you." Pericci grinned and anyone would notice that she was not being completely serious again, in her usual naive way. "But you must give them something…"

"What?" The pink-haired Fellpool was in such despair that she failed to notice the lack of seriousness in Pericci's comment.

"You must let them have you _that _way they like."

"Pericci! That is gross!" Millie was revolted with the suggestion.

"It is true. They want so much a woman that provides _that_ to them." The Lesser Fellpool laughed, but Millie didn't take that as a hint of her always playful demeanor, so irate she was.

"I'll never do that! It is so unladylike… so humiliating… so revolting… so disgusting..." The pink-haired Fellpool had the disgust she felt for Pericci's suggestion stamped in her face.

"..." Pericci didn't understand why her friend was so repulsive to her suggestion, for she didn't know much about what she was suggesting.

"No, no, I'd rather die than to do that..." Millie was talking more to herself than to her friend. "Never! Never I will let myself be distraught because of the filthy desires of someone! Never! I still have my pride... I am a lady... Meant to be loved, not to do that..." Then, turning to Pericci, "Only low women like you can consider doing that!"

"Me?" Pericci seemed surprised. "I've never done that. It is just what I've overheard from the sailors' conversation." Upset by her friend's aggressive reaction, Pericci shrugged and left. She didn't understand the reason why Millie was so baffled at her suggestion. The girl was asking a way of seducing someone and she only told her something she had overheard at the bars. If Millie wanted to accept it or not, try it or not, Pericci was not responsible for that, so there was no reason for her friend to become mad at her. She was just trying to help.

Millie was left alone, crying again. Many people had seen her there, but they didn't care. The recent changes in her personality were so flagrant that no one bothered to help her, for she had been acting like a lunatic recently and people treated her as they treat mad people: avoiding her. However, after a few minutes, someone came running, as a guardian angel coming to rescue the damned soul from the hellish ocean of indifference.

"Millie!"

"Oh..." The pink-haired Fellpool's state of mind was so dreadful that she couldn't tell for sure if the shout was real or a byproduct of her degraded mind.

"Millie!" Dorne sat down beside her and held her body, laying her head in his lap. The feeling of her skin-and-bones body on his arms made him shiver for a moment. It was an unpleasant feeling, but it was not this feeling that made him feel uneasy. The girl that he has known since both here young children, the girl that he loved, was in such a horrifying condition that it was hard to believe. But his feelings overcame any repulsive feelings he might have had on the occasion.

"Why do I have to do that? Why?" Millie ignored her friend. She was talking to herself again.

"What happened, Millie?" Dorne gently stroked his friend's hair.

"Why must I be humiliated to be loved?" Millie stared intently at Dorne's eyes with so much sorrow that the blond Fellpool couldn't stand staring back for more than a few seconds. For his benefit, soon she looked somewhere else, talking to herself once more. "I don't want to do _that..."_

"Listen, Millie!" Dorne put his hands around Millie's head and forced her to stare at him. "The person that really loves you, loves you the way you are."

"That means I'm helpless?" Millie's faint childish whisper only increased the sense of fragility and innocence of the weak girl Dorne was holding in his arms. Of the sweetest girl in the world. The perfect girl for him. No matter how she was, she was still _his _Millie.

"No, Millie, that means you just need to open your eyes."

"Why can't I be happy…? Why?" The pink-haired Fellpool became introspective again.

Millie stayed weeping for a long time on Dorne's arms, unable to think on anything else than her utter failure in accomplishing what she wanted most in her life. All her painful efforts resulted only in sorrow, and she had lost everything. In the past few months, she had destroyed both her looks and her personality, and now she had nothing left to live for. Meanwhile, Dorne had only one thing in mind. "Why can't we be happy, Millie? Why?_"_

"Huh?" The pink-haired Fellpool couldn't tell if Dorne was really saying that or that it was a delirium of her mind, making her hear what she hoped Roddick would say to her.

"Why can't we be happy together, Millie?" Dorne asked again, in despair, with tears in his eyes. "I love you, Millie. I love you!"

The fragility of her mind didn't allow her to understand properly what was happening, but she understood it partly, and her heart was suddenly warmed by that declaration. "Dorne..." She whispered sweetly, and laid her head on his lap, crying. She still loved Roddick, but, somehow, her subconscious cried for a answer, a way out of that nightmare, and her dear friend could be that answer, that last hope for the tormented Fellpool. Overflown by confusing thoughts and feelings, her mind gave her some rest, while Dorne sweetly stroked her pink hair and whispered in her ears. "I love you Millie, I've always loved you and I'll always love you. I swear..."


End file.
